Recently, as the amount of communication information such as control signals, image signals, audio signals and the like transmitted in vehicles is increased, optical fiber cables, for example, are used for transmission paths for transmitting the information signals instead of conventional metal cables.
As an element for connecting terminal-attached optical fiber cables which are related members forming an optical transmission path (optical transmission path-related members) to each other (so-called wire-to-wire connection) or for connecting a terminal-attached optical fiber cable to a known FOT (Fiber Optical Transceiver) or the like which is an optical transmission path-related member, an optical connector including a male connector housing to which the optical transmission path-related members are assembled and a female connector housing for allowing the male connector housing to be inserted thereinto is known.
Patent Document 1 identified below discloses an optical connector having the following structure. Inner side surfaces of the female connector housing, corresponding to side surfaces of the male connector housing in a state where the male connector housing is inserted into the female housing, have rectangular convexed and concaved parts having horizontal surfaces which extend in a direction perpendicular to the inner side surfaces. The rectangular convexed and concaved parts extend in a direction in which the male connector housing is inserted.
In Patent Document 1, the side surfaces of the male connector housing have convexed and concaved parts engageable with the convexed and concaved parts of the female connector housing. Owing to this, the male connector housing can be guided in the direction in which the male connector housing is inserted. Thus, the workability of assembling the optical connector can be improved.
However, in the case where the above-described convexed and concaved parts are actually provided, the following possibility is involved. Unless the convexed and concaved parts of the male connector housing and the convexed and concaved parts of the female connector housing are in contact with each other along a sufficient area size, a sufficient level of supporting rigidity of the male connector housing cannot be provided after the male connector housing is inserted.
In order to avoid this, it is conceivable to set the horizontal surfaces of the concaved parts to be as long as possible, so that the contact parts (contact area size) can be sufficiently large. However, in this case, the female connector housing needs to be long in correspondence with the increase of the length of the horizontal surfaces. This results in a size increase of the optical connector.